The influence of consumer ethnocentric tendency on the attitude towards locally manufactured and imported clothes

Abstract

This study focuses on the consumer ethnocentrism and its relationship with attitude towards locally manufactured and imported products. It analyses ethnocentrism as an innate component of every society and individual as a result of their socialization and surrounding. The analysis of ethnocentrism is carried out on the basis of both second hand and new locally manufactured products. Attitude towards a product on the other hand is analyzed as the sum of attitude towards it components following the multi attribute attitude model proposed by Fishbein.The study confirms that: a) Nairobi consumers have less than average ethnocentric scores on the ethnocentrism scale. However they exhibit a greater level of ethnocentrism with respect to new locally manufactured products. b) Nairobi consumers have less positive attitude towards locally manufactured clothes compared to both imported and second hand clothes, mainly because they believe the product does not offer the right level of desired attributes. c) There is a direct positive relationship between consumer ethnocentrism score and attitude towards locally manufactured clothes.